Steven Wilson – Grace for Drowning North American tour – three tracks recorded live in London now online

Steven Wilson’s first ever solo tour of North America starts tonight (November 8th) in Orlando. The gig is the first of eight dates which will also see him visit Baltimore, New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Montreal, Toronto and Chicago (click here for full details and ticket links). On the dates Steven will be playing material from his new album Grace for Drowning, as well as selections from his first solo album, Insurgentes.

Grace for Drowning entered the US Billboard Rock album chart at #19 (#13 in independent chart), the UK top 40 album chart at #34, both the Dutch and German national charts at #22 and debuted at #7 in the Polish national charts. The album has been critically acclaimed too, having been described by Mojo as ‘an immersive, ambitious project that demands repeated spins’ (4 stars), by Terrorizer as ‘a dense yet extremely coherent album, Grace for Drowning succeeds brilliantly… Prog album of the year, no less’ (5/5) and by Classic Rock Prog as ‘ a magnificent step up; he simply can’t stopped.’

For the Grace for Drowning tour, Wilson has worked extensively with Lasse Hoile, his long time visual collaborator, to create a show unlike nothing else that has ever done with his other bands, Porcupine Tree, Blackfield, No-Man or Bass Communion.

The shows submerge fans in a rich sensory experience: rear speakers provide surround-sound effects, giant screens show off Lasse’s films made specifically to accompany these songs, and cutting-edge lighting designs give texture to each song. The heart of the performance is Wilson (on keys, guitar, and vocals) and his virtuoso band: Marco Minnemann (drums), Nick Beggs (bass), Theo Travis (flute and sax), Adam Holzman (keys), and John Wesley on guitars. John is replacing Aziz Ibrahim who played on the successful European tour. Three tracks recorded in London’s Shepherd Bush Empire as part of that tour are now available on the Grace for Drowningto the mini-site. The tracks soundtrack short videos made by Lasse featuring pictures taken on the tour.

These tracks have just been added to the mini-site, previously have been available on the official Steven Wilson iphone and ipad app. The free app features exclusive music, videos and photos, plus up-to-the minute news and tour info, and can be downloaded from here.

Steven recently partnered with Guitar World and Spector Bass Guitars to giveaway a Legend 5 Classic Bass valued at $1100. This is the same bass that was used on the recording of the album, and you can enter to win it here: http://bit.ly/oz013G